The Matchmaker
by Mihi Nomen Est
Summary: Harry knows Ron and Hermione like each other. Of course, he has to step in to get them together. But what happens when he starts falling for Hermione?
1. Revelations

_A/N: This is my first attempt at fanfic. Please be kind. Also, this story starts off R/Hr, but ends H/Hr._

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters. If I did, I wouldn't be amusing myself writing fanfics._

Chapter 1: Revelations

"So, Ron, when were you planning to tell me that you fancy Hermione?"

Two seventeen-year-old boys sat in front of the common room fire. One was raven-haired with glasses, and lay back in an over-stuffed armchair. The other one, Ron, had red hair and slouched on the couch drinking butterbeer. At this statement, he spit out his drink, and choked and coughed a bit before answering in a strangely high voice:

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"Oh, come on. Everyone knows it."

"Am I that bloody obvious?"

"Yes."

"Well, maybe I fancy her a bit…"

"Just a little bit? As in a little bit more than Queen Victoria fancied Albert?"

"All right. You've made your point. Maybe a lot. But she doesn't feel the same way."

"I think she does. Over the last year, she's been giving you more looks than at her books. I'll tell you what. I'll talk to Hermione tomorrow, and she if she does. When I give you the good news, we'll devise a strategy."

"Okay, mate. Thanks."

Harry wondered why he had gotten himself into this mess. He was hopeless at girls, something Hermione had made pretty obvious in fifth year. Maybe he did it to help his best friends. Maybe he did it to act as a catalyst in their relationship. But deep inside, he knew the real reason.

_Flashback: 1 year before_

_Harry walked into the common room. It was finally time to tell Ron and Hermione about the prophesy. Luckily, they were both in the common room._

_"Ron, Hermione, can you come with me? There's something I need to tell you."_

_"Hey! If this has anything to do with DA, I deserve to know."_

_Harry spun around. Ginny had said that. He thought about it for a moment._

_"Alright, you can come. Neville, you come too. Ginny, get Luna, please."_

_Eventually, they reached the Room of Requirement. After passing it three times, a large oak door appeared. Harry reached for the brass knob and the six of them ventured in._

_Inside the room was a large, rectangular table with six chairs and six settings for tea. Harry sat down at the head and poured himself a cup of tea._

_"Yes, well? What is it?" Ron's voice echoed through the large room._

_Harry stood up and walked to the window. It looked out onto the quidditch pitch. That was odd, really, because Harry was sure the pitch was the other direction. He took a sip of his tea before saying, "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…."

_"That's very nice, Harry, but why are you saying that?" Ron asked_

_"Obviously, it's important, Ron, otherwise he wouldn't be saying it. Just let him explain, will you?" Hermione chastised._

_"It's the prophesy, the one we destroyed. A child born near the end of July to parents who have evaded Voldemort three times can defeat Voldemort. As it turns out, two people fit this description: me, of course, and Neville."_

_Neville went white at this statement. "So, I, I might have to fight You-Know-Who?"_

_"No," Luna said. "Harry's the one he marked as his equal. Look at his scar."_

_Harry looked at Luna, bewildered. "That's right."_

_"What is the power the Dark Lord knows not?" Ginny inquired,_

_"Love, of course," Hermione stated, before Harry had a chance to open his mouth._

_"Since apparently everyone knows all about this prophesy, I should leave," Harry suggested sarcastically._

_"No, mate! Please don't! I don't understand any of this!" Ron pleaded._

_"You all missed the point! I either have to kill or be killed! I'm going to die!" Harry's voice cracked._

_"You've got all of us to help you!" Ginny said. "You can't go wrong there."_

_That was what Harry most feared. He didn't want them to endanger themselves to help him. He saw Hermione give Ron a reassuring smile and pat his hand. That's when he knew. He had to get them out of his life. He set his teacup down and stormed out of the room._


	2. Chatting with the Head Girl

_A/N: Here is another chapter. I'm working on two fics right now, as well as beta-ing, so the chapters may be slow in coming. Thank you for your reviews. Also, I haven't got the entire plot clearly outlined… I have the crucial chapters, though. Some chapters will be much longer than others. Thanks!_

_DISCLAIMER: I still don't own anything; I'm still not making a profit._

**Chapter 2: Chatting with the Head Girl**

As Harry climbed the winding stairs to the Head Girl/ Head Boy common room, he suddenly realized that he had no idea what he was going to say. For some reason, "Hey, you fancy Ron, don't you? 'Cause if you do, he's going to ask you out…" didn't sound like a great idea. He would just have to think of something later.

During his planning, he ended up in front of a statue of Merlin. "Amor vincit omnia," he said. The statue moved aside, allowing him entrance into the common room.

Hermione sat on the couch, studying a piece of parchment. She didn't notice Harry. A couple minutes later, she set down the parchment and picked up _Hogwarts: A History_. Then, she finally noticed Harry.

"Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there. I just finished reading your History of Magic essay; it's fine." She said, indicating the parchment.

"Thank you. Hermione, how are you?"

"I'm fine, why are you asking?"

"Well, it just occurred to me that we haven't really just talked for months. We've been busy with our head boy and head girl duties, studying for N.E.W.T.s, DA, I've had quidditch, and all the homework. And, of course, the whole Voldemort thing."

"Well, then, Harry, let's talk!" She put down her book, and scooted over to make room for him.

"I've known you for six years, and I still don't know much about your family. Why don't you tell me about them?"

"Well, my parents met at a dentist's convention in Bristol twenty years ago. Two years later they were married, and then, after a year, I was born. My parents' names are Joe and Jane, so they must have felt some compulsion to name their children odd names. I got Hermione, of course, and they bowed into tradition by giving me my mother's name for my middle name. Two years later, my sister was born. I don't know if you've ever met her. They named her Iphigenia; apparently they liked Greek names from the Trojan War. Since my parents are both only children, they couldn't give her an aunt's name for a middle name, and obviously, they couldn't give her Joseph as one, so they settled on Josephine. At first, I was delighted that Hermione was a little less strange than Iphigenia, you know, Hermione Gingold and such. Eventually, she realized she could shorten her name Geni. Other than the nasty side effect of being called Jennifer, she got much less taunting in school over her name than I did. Geni is, of course, a muggle, but does excellently in school. You should meet her one day.

"Oh, dear! Now I feel so insensitive! Talking about my family when you have none!"

"I brought up the topic, Hermione. If you don't want to talk about it, talk about your friends."

"Well, I was such a bookworm; I didn't really have any friends."

"Well, then. How are you doing on the love front?" Harry decided this would be the time to subtly introduce the Ron subject.

"Harry, we've been busy, but we see each other all the time. You should know there's no one."

"Yes, but is there anyone you fancy?"

Hermione blushed. "Well, yes. There is someone…"

"May I hazard a guess as to whom?"

"Go ahead."

"Ron."

Hermione's blush deepened. "Yes," she managed to croak out.

"Well, I know for certain that he has his eye on you. I will do what I can, but I'm betting that in no time, you guys will be Hogwarts' golden couple."

"Oh, will you, Harry? You're the best friend a girl could have!" She hugged Harry tightly.

Harry felt slightly uncomfortable. "Er… Yes. Quite. About that Potions test tomorrow…" He quickly changed the subject.

They talked for a bit more that night. When Harry went to bed, he thought of how nice it had been talking to her. They hadn't done that in a long time. Tomorrow, he would tell Ron, and the whole ordeal would be over.

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_A/N: "Amor vincit omnia" is Latin for "Love conquers all." It is also in _Canterbury Tales_ if it sounds familiar to you._ __


	3. The Question

_A/N: Here's another chapter! Thanks for your reviews. I'll try to update every couple of days. Enjoy!_

**The Question**

The next morning, Harry came down to breakfast. Ron was already at the table, inhaling his waffles. Harry sat down across from him and sipped at his pumpkin juice.

"Well?" Ron inquired.

"Well what?" Harry asked, confused.

"How'd it go?"

"What?"

"You know what. That thing you said you would do," Ron prodded.

Recognition dawned on Harry's features. "Oh, that. I'll tell you later. Hermione's coming this way."

Hermione sat down next to Harry. All breakfast long, she avoided looking at Ron. If this was how she was going to act until they got together, Harry would make sure that they were a couple soon. He didn't know how much of this he could stand.

Luckily, Hermione decided to spend lunch in the library. This presented a great opportunity for Harry and Ron to talk. They settled down in the common room.

"Did you talk to her?" Ron queried.

"Yes."

"And?"

"Well, you're a lucky bloke. Hermione fancies you."

"Yes!" Ron pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and an ink pot from his bag.

"Ron, what are you doing?"

"It's Hermione, mate. I've got to be prepared, or I don't stand a chance!"

"Er... Right. What do you have so far?"

"'Hermione, will you go out with me?'"

"Yes, and?"

"Well, that's it so far."

"Well, be sure to put in something about how beautiful she is."

"Okay, I'll write that down."

"Maybe some romantic metaphors..."

"Oh, I know loads of those from those books Ginny reads!"

"Don't call her a know-it-all, but compliment her intelligence."

So went their lunch period, until both boys were satisfied. Harry left while Ron practiced his speech over and over again. Outside the common room, Harry was attacked by Hermione.

"Oh, Harry, you must help me! What should I do if Ron asks me out?"

"Er… Say yes."

"But, how should I act around him? I don't know how to do any of this!"

"Just listen with your undivided attention, I guess. And smile at him. Accept his compliments. Wear something that he gave you, or something. I don't know."

Much to Harry's surprise, Hermione enveloped him into a huge hug. "Thank you so much! I know just what to wear! That perfume he gave me in fifth year. Thank you!"

"It was nothing," Harry said, puzzled.

After quidditch practice, Ron picked some flowers for Hermione at Harry's prompting. They bathed and changed, and then went to the head boy/head girl common room. Hermione was sitting on her favorite spot on the couch. She seemed to have done something with her hair, and was actually wearing a little make-up. When she saw Ron, she smiled and her eyes lit up.

"Hello, Harry. Hi, Ron."

Ron nervously swayed back and forth. Harry nodded discretely at him.

"Hermione, when we were eleven, I was an impulsive, rude boy. You were an intelligent, nice girl. Against all odds, we became best friends. Three years passed. We were teenagers. You had grown into the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I was too blind to see what was in front of me. When the Yule Ball came, I finally realized what I had been missing. However, by the time I realized it, you had a date. When I walked into the Yule Ball and saw you with Krum, I felt a huge pang of jealousy. I took out my anger on him, insulting him and degrading him just because he had what I so badly wanted. Now, three years after that, I've finally found the courage to tell you what I've been feeling for these past few years. I know I've taken you for granted when you helped me on my homework or forced me to study, but that isn't what's so wonderful about you. You care about me, and have helped me through hard times. Your smile lights up a room. When I'm with you, I feel happy. I fight with you only because I want to protect you so much. I know you are much too good for me, but, Hermione Jane Granger, will you go out with me?"

"Yes! Of course! I've liked you for so long," Hermione answered, tears running down her cheeks.

Ron looked shell-shocked. "You mean you'll be my girlfriend?"

"Of course, you silly git!"

Harry left the happy couple. As he put his pajamas on, he thought about the scene he had just witnessed. He felt mixed emotions. The ordeal went well, other than the fact that Ron sounded like he was proposing to her. He felt happy that he'd managed to do something right, for once. His friends were happy. He swallowed his guilt as the most prevalent thought could no longer be ignored. They were out of his hair. He could work on defeating Voldemort in peace.


	4. Dumbledore's Army

_A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews. Just so you know, the H/Hr stuff will happen in two or three chapters. It will probably be one of my longest chapters. This chapter is mainly so that I have some unromantic plot that doesn't pop out of nowhere._

_DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all related indicia are the property of JKR._

**Dumbledore's Army**

Harry called an emergency meeting of the heads of DA the next day. "Voldemort is steadily rising every day. We must increase everything. Dumbledore's Army will meet everyday. We also need to increase research. I know Hermione and Luna have found many useful spells, but we want as many as possible. I can only trust the five of you to be able to do this. We shall meet every other day to discuss progress. However, practice and spells are not the solution. Strategy is the key. Ron, we know how good you are at chess. This means that you have a good head for strategy. We need history. I want a compilation of successful battles, magical and muggle. We want to also delve into historical Voldemort battles. We must discover his patterns. Any questions?"

"What are we all supposed to do?" Neville asked. "Individually, I mean. Like Ron and strategy. We've got to divide the tasks up."

"All right. I want to you all to do a little of everything. However, Ron, your main task is to devise a strategy. When we get the historical information and information from the Order, change the strategy to fit. Hermione, since you take good notes in History of Magic, and you're muggle-born, please research historical battles and arrange them in an easy format. Luna, you are very insightful and good at reading character, so please look at Voldemort's habits and strategies, and try to find patterns. Ginny, look up some spells if you can, but you have a greater talent. You can control people. I want you to take over some of the teaching, and should we be attacked on two fronts, I want you to lead the one without Voldemort. Neville, look up spells and potions. There are probably things to do with Herbology that we missed. I'll work with everyone and teach classes. Meet here again in two days."

Harry was quite satisfied with this meeting. Hermione kept Ron under control, and they kept staring at each other, so he didn't have many interruptions. Now, he could be really prepared for Voldemort.

When Harry went down to the Great Hall, Ron and Hermione were already there, snogging. He smiled to himself. They would definitely be too interested in each other to "help" him. Everything was going according to plan.

That night at the DA session, he noticed something. The members seemed to be losing heart in their practice. He finally stopped everyone.

"Everyone, stop what you're doing. Why is everyone doing everything half-heartedly?"

"Well, Voldemort hasn't shown up the past two years. Why should he anytime soon?" Hannah Abbot replied.

"Ah. No reason. Perhaps I should let you guys in on a few secrets. Voldemort is gaining power. Do you all remember the Triwizard Tournament? When Cedric died? The cup was a portkey. Voldemort took some of my blood, as well as a few other things. These essentially brought him back to life. In my fifth year, he staged an attack on me, as well as five others here and more who are not, and managed to kill someone very close to me. Last year, he attacked me in Hogsmeade. He gets more powerful by the day. I learned in my fifth year that either I must kill Voldemort, or he will kill me. Do not give up hope. Will all muggle-borns or half-bloods stand?" About half the room stood. "How many of you are friends with at least one of these people?" Everyone else raised his or her hand. "If we don't keep working, these people may well die or be tortured beyond belief. If you can't work for a better tomorrow, a tomorrow without fear, do it for your friends."

Harry sat down. Everyone gaped at him. Quite a few people blushed, and many mumbled apologies. When they got back to work, they performed with a new spirit. Everyone was much more supportive of everyone else, and people seemed much more focused. Harry felt more relaxed and confident than he had in years. Perhaps he could even pull this off.


	5. Realization

A/N: Sorry it took me this long to update. If you wish to believe that Ron and Hermione stayed together happily ever after, stop reading now. DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.  
Realization  
Two weeks had passed since Harry had stepped up training for DA. Things were going along nicely. Today he was having his research and planning meeting. When he got to the Room of Requirement, Neville, Ginny, and Luna were already there. They went inside to wait for Ron and Hermione. After fifteen minutes passed with no sign of them, Harry went looking for them.  
He found them in the first place he looked, the Gryffindor common room. They were sitting on the sofa, kissing, oblivious to time and their surroundings.  
"If you two would stop snogging for a minute, we have a meeting to attend," Harry said, a hard edge to his voice.  
"You don't have to be so mean about it, you know," Ron replied defensively.  
"We've been waiting for fifteen minutes."  
The three of them went to the Room of Requirement. The meeting was very useful and informative, in part because Ron felt the need to prove that he was good for something.  
When Harry went to bed that night, he brushed off the tone of voice he had used earlier. He told himself that he was irritated because they were late. However, he couldn't brush off the fact that seeing them together had made his blood boil. He said to himself that it was absolutely nothing, and fell into a deep sleep.  
Harry had the oddest dream of his life. He was sitting by the lake when he heard giggling behind him. He turned around. Ron and Hermione were skipping towards him, actually skipping! They came up to him, all smiles, and said in unison, "We're getting married!"  
"But, you're only seventeen! And you've been dating two weeks! How can you be getting married?"  
"We're in love! We've know each other since we were eleven. Two weeks had been long enough to convince me that Ron is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, right, Sweetie?" Hermione replied.  
"Definitely. I love you so much, Honey." They started kissing in front of him. Harry wanted nothing more than to tear them apart and hit Ron until that silly little grin left his face. Then he would tear the diamond engagement ring off Hermione's finger and throw it into the lake. Following that, he would snog Hermione senseless. Soon she would beg him to marry her.  
But Dream Harry couldn't do that. He had gotten them together in the first place. And Hermione would never want to marry Harry. It even sounded bad. So Dream Harry ran far away and cried.  
Harry awoke with a jolt. Why was he so upset? Finally, he had to realize the truth. He was in love with Hermione Granger.  
The entire day, Harry had trouble not getting angry at Ron. Every time he saw the two of them together, he felt a wave of despair wash over him. Finally, when he went to DA, he threw some nasty curses at Ron. It got him satisfaction by doing this to Ron, and got him praise from Hermione for mastering such complicated spells. Of course, she also helped Ron and called him brave.  
Later that night, Harry walked to the Gryffindor common room. Before he went in, he heard Ron and Hermione's voices. At least that meant that they weren't kissing.  
"Oh! I have to go give this spell to Harry," Hermione said.  
"But you said you'd help me with my Transfiguration homework."  
"I will. Just give me five minutes to show this to Harry, and I'll be back."  
"I thought you were my girlfriend. Are you sneaking around behind my back with my best mate?"  
"Ron, no. This is Harry we're talking about. Harry."  
"Well, then is it Dean? I saw you look at him today in potions."  
"No. Ron-"  
"Seamus then? Or Terry Boot? You talked to both of them today"  
"Ron, you're being-"  
"You smiled at Neville today. It's him, isn't it?"  
"RON! I'm not cheating on you. Harry is my best friend, too. I just want to help him so that we don't all die! The other ones are friends! I don't think I can put up with your jealousy. I can't deal with your dominating attitude. You're a paranoid, jealous man Ronald Bilius Weasley."  
"Hermione, I'm just concerned for you. But if that's how you're going to act, if you're just going to make me accept that you're not some scarlet woman, I don't think this is going to work. I'm breaking up with you."  
"Fine!" Hermione yelled and ran out of the common room. She was crying.  
Harry followed her for a bit. When she went into the prefects' bathroom, Harry went to his bedroom.  
Hermione came back nearly an hour later. She cried herself to sleep. Harry felt sorry for her. Another part of him felt upset that his plan had backfired. But the overwhelming part of him was glad that they had broken up. Now he had a chance. 


End file.
